Writer, husband say 'I love you' with Sweethearts candy

Friday

Feb 14, 2014 at 11:17 AM

Ever tried to have a conversation with those little tiny hearts? It happened to me once. Sitting in a darkened movie theater, I was being handed these tiny little pieces of heart-shaped candy and trying not to laugh when I read their inscription. Was there a love connection made

By CAROLYN FARR SHANESYFor 85-26.com

Ever tried to have a conversation with those little tiny hearts? It happened to me once. Sitting in a darkened movie theater, I was being handed these tiny little pieces of heart-shaped candy and trying not to laugh when I read their inscription. Was there a love connection made?

Undoubtedly not, but who can blame a guy for trying.

Each year, NECCO, the New England Confectionary Co., the maker of Sweethearts, adds 12 to 18 new phrases to its confectionery hearts. This year, NECCO gave a little love to Twitter and to the Occupy movement in the country, adding “#LOVE” “TXT Me” and “Occupy My 3>” But what could you say to that special someone using these candies?

My husband and I decided to give it a shot. Using a few small boxes, we started a conversation. Of course you can't make full sentences, but you can have a few laughs. We started out by drawing one heart out of the pile at a time and here's the chatter we found: I MISS YOU when you aren't with me.

YOU OCCUPY MY HEART (with the heart instead of word).

You are MY BABY. (Aww, isn't that sweet?) You are my TRUE LOVE.

I LOVE YOU (a heart instead of love) Will you MARRY ME?

YES DEAR.

I only have eyes FOR YOU.

All this SWEET TALK.

HUG ME?

KISS ME.

A heart with puckered lips.

BE MINE.

You are my BFF.

SO SWEET.

My PRINCESS (a heart with a crown) LOL.

OK, DIVA?

You are the LOML. (Love of my life) We'll be FRIENDS 4 EVA.

Music plays, denoted by the musical note on the heart.

You're a CUTIE PIE!

HE HE!

LOVE YA!

Sweethearts' sayings have changed throughout the years, according to the company's website. NECCO has been been stamping sayings on those candy hearts since 1866, producing about 8 billion of them each year.

But what would you like for the hearts to say?

Satchel Wiltshire, a soccer player at USC Upstate, said he would have to think about it for a few minutes.

“They should say 'Kiss Me, I'm an athlete!”

S. Lorielle, a junior at USC Upstate, said that she likes the cute sayings on the hearts like “Be Mine.”

“I would want it to say something sweet like, 'something sweet, because you're so sweet.' ” Unfortunately, there's a limit to what you can say on those little candied hearts. The company's website says each saying can be no longer than two lines of four letters each on the small hearts and six letters each on two lines on the larger hearts.